"There will be times when you feel like your path is zigging and zagging through a diversity of experiences, but they will all come together to make you uniquely equipped for what you’re doing now.” An uncommon history leads to uncommon ideas. Terry Lawson Dunn is a...

Interview From Basecamp Explorer Kenya A few weeks ago, I had the honor of speaking with someone by phone from Basecamp Explorer Kenya. I've admired what they are doing from a great distance and was quite excited to hear more directly from them. If you are still...

Mongolia, 1998 A dozen people on a tour across the dry, almost flat landscape on a rutted, dirt “road”. We were looking for an open space away from family settlements in order to have a picnic lunch. We pulled away from the rutted dirt road, found a grassy area to...

(This story is from a dear friend...one who delivered a huge random act of hospitality to me by giving me a room for months when I was a young biologist living in Boise, Idaho. He now has a book and this is one of the chapters from his book. You can find his book...

Mongolia, 1998 A dozen people were on our tour across the dry, almost flat landscape on a rutted, dirt “road”. We were approaching a family settlement: a few “gers”, small animal herds, and a basketball hoop. As we drove closer we saw a couple of young men throwing...

In 1982 my wife and I were traveling in the Yucatan in a rented VW bug that we picked up in Merida to drive to Coba. Lots of dirt roads, no cell phones, no Spanish on our part. Somewhere a couple hours out of Merida we had a flat tire near a small collection of...

Interview with Noeleen Tyrrell, Founder and Director of Ard Nahoo Eco Retreat, Ireland So far in this interview series, we've spanned the globe from Cambodia to Bhutan to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Now for something different-- Ireland -- and a different model of...

Interview with Karma Bajaj, Owner of Bhutan Mahayana Tours Bhutan is perhaps one of the most unusual, intriguing travel destinations in the world. Since Bhutan was first opened to tourists, the country has approached tourism on their own terms, maintaining what...

Mother Nature Is Not Always Nice The great thing about travel is that it comes with serendipitous surprises and unfamiliar experiences. But what if those unfamiliar experiences include natural disasters, ones that you are clueless about because you don’t live in...

Perhaps the first thing that crosses your mind when you see that question is, ‘Am I typical’? Well, I'm not sure there is such a thing. Last month I did a series of rather comprehensive interviews with nature travelers. Nature travel is a kind of a broad umbrella that...

Nature travel is mostly about being in nature, but there are some things that can make the time out there easier and more inspired. In recent months I've encountered a few things that are so clever, or inspiring, that I wanted to share them with you. ...

Interview with Randy Borman Executive Director Fundacion Sobrevivencia Cofan Randy Borman has a way with words. It was obvious from our first communication. His commitment, enthusiasm, vivid descriptions and willingness to encourage EcoTripMatch.com's...

Great news! EcoTripMatch.com was recently mentioned in an insightful article about green travel in the Washington Post. The title? " With eco-friendly travel more popular than ever, approach green claims with skepticism Click on the button to read the article!...

When Getting There is Half the Fun! I just got back from a trip to England and Spain, so the flights home to New Mexico were long and many. Given that the long haul is fresh in the memory, it seems like the least likely time for me to focus on ecolodges that are not...

I found myself wondering the other day, is it better to drive to a store to get an item or is it better to order it online? (I know, my mind may work in mysterious ways. And, I’m fully aware that in many parts of the world, there’s not even a choice). Here in the...

I am thrilled to report that the first EcoTripMatch.com "Best Nature Tour Guide" has been selected through a successful global vote! Nominees were narrowed down by a team of very knowledgable judges, to a group of five finalists and then put up for a global, online...

Here are some words that don't normally catch my attention: “accounting”, “economic”, “politicians”, “legislation”. I like the words “outdoor”, “act”, “Nature”, “recreation”, and “travel”, much better. Strangely ALL of these words came together in December while most...

In your heart, you probably know that staying at an ecolodge or going on an ecotrip is good, but do you want to know a little more? What are the ripple effects of an ecotrip? You really don't have to sacrifice a thing to travel in a more eco-friendly way and the...

By this time of year, you are probably plotting your escape. The holidays are coming, you might be getting cold, and ‘travel more’ is probably a top contender for your New Year’s resolution list. Maybe, just maybe, you are a little burned out? Under the best of...

Glamping is the New Camping Remember that feeling when you were a kid and you built a fort out of pillows or blankets and then crawled inside? It was always strangely exhilerating. Camping can give you that same feeling, but sometimes there are barriers that keep us...

One of the ecolodge owners on EcoTripMatch shared this video with me yesterday. Kasbah Du Toubkal Mountain Retreat is perched (really perched) in the high mountains of Morocco. They offer treks, yoga, and cultural experiences that are unlike anywhere else. They also...

Why Winging it Wouldn’t Work When people think of ecotourism I’m guessing many of them think of the classic African safari... close to nature, learning about animals, tented camps, adventure. Well, I am thrilled to say I just got back from one of those classic African...

From the first time I saw a photo of Four Rivers Floating Ecolodge in Cambodia, I knew it was different. The whole thing floats on a river surrounded by forest!! What an interesting idea! Imagine not clearing a patch of forest to create a new tourism development. So,...

Are you a closet ecotourist? You may have some assumptions about what an ecotourist is… unshaven, vegetarian, war- torn backpack… you know, someone who would turn down a perfectly good hammock to sleep on the ground. But, ecotourists come in all shapes and sizes (and...

The Best Ever Video on Ecotourism Sometimes those inboxes are like unwelcome dictators, defining the day’s to-do list without your own input! But, sometimes an unexpected jewel comes along. A couple weeks ago, one of those jewels came along from Ecuador and you...

Crossing paths with someone else who is on a similar path is one of the joys of life. Through a friend of a friend, I recently met a local woman with a passion for ecotourism. What luck! She writes a blog and featured EcoTripMatch this week. You can read it here:...

The Power of Seeing Something With Your Own Eyes I was on a flight from Albuquerque to San Francisco recently and as often happens, I had an interesting conversation with my seat mate. It may be my imagination, but it did seem like she has been almost everywhere....

Like all new ventures, you're bound to learn something along the way. These are the most interesting things I learned as I created EcoTripMatch.com: One: You’ve heard of the term ‘green-washing’? It means using terms like ‘green’, ‘eco’, ‘eco-friendly’ , or...